Does anyone out there have any experience with teaching young elementary students German? I have a 1st and 3rd grader I want to teach German to. I have looked into Rosetta Stone and Tell me more. Does anyone have any experience with these programs or others?

We started Rosetta Stone Spanish when my kids were in K and 2nd grade. The company was very helpful in walking me through setting the lessons so they wouldn't have to do the parts that required them to type their answers. We replaced it with another oral drill. They couldn't spell things in English, so asking them to come up with Spanish spelling was a bit much (although spelling in Spanish is much easier.)

I had them do 10 minutes a day to start (at first it took them a week or more to finish one lesson), then had them increase the time 5 minutes each year. My oldest finished Level 2 (of the old RS program - which I think has more instruction per level than the new version) by the end of 7th grade and my youngest will finish Level 2 this year (6th grade.) They have a surprisingly big vocabulary and can figure out most simple conversations. My 7th grader sat in on a community education conversational Spanish class last year and did as well or better than most of the adults.

It took a long time, but now they have a grasp of the language, they are ready for some serious study for their high school years.

Whatever you choose, I think the key is doing it everyday.
Best wishes!_________________Jill

We used Rosetta Stone before my girls went to Germany last year. We had it for quite a while before that but they were not motivated to learn it until then. I had heard that you could customize lessons for younger children but I never took the time to do that. Maybe I will pursue that with my younger children now that I see that it can be done.

Rosetta Stone seems to be a very good option over anything else I have seen. I agree that you need to be consistent though. Even once or twice a week should work._________________Heidi
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I have just started teaching my kids German (I already speak it pretty well, but am definitely not fluent). I have started with colors and numbers so they can start picking up some vocabulary. I have also started talking in German occaisionally. I just bought a program from Transparent Language called KidSpeak. I received it yesterday, but have had trouble loading it onto my computer (I have never had trouble with any software before so that concerns me). However, it is supposed to teach them in a fun way, using games, etc. That is going to be our starting off point for my 4 year old (if I ever actually get to use it!). It is made for kids ages 5-13.

I own the Rosetta Stone German system and I do really like it (although I prefer actually learning the grammar rules, etc instead of just learning them through osmosis so I don't think it is appropriate as the only learning tool. It is definitely too advanced for my kid (ages almost 5 and 3) since they can't read or write. When they are a little older, I will let them try it!

If you find any more resources, please let me know. I really want my kids to be able to speak a foreign language from a young age. It is so good for them!

I found out that you don't actually "own" Rosetta Stone. See the terms...you actually only lease the software. You are not allowed to resell it. I also had trouble re-installing after my hard drive crashed because they were so paranoid I was trying to install a used copy. Well, I guess they have to because of all the dishonest people out there...but shouldn't you be able to resell something you buy. Ok, so you aren't buying it, that is their point...it just really seems like you are buying it because it is a one-time price, not some monthly payments or anything.

Anyway, all that to say make sure you understand that before you buy. I guess it's still worth it because it works so well. I would like to find something else that works as well and not so expensive. Any other experience with tellmemore?_________________We use My Father's World Homeschool Curriculum for our 2 kid's homeschool education.